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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23267446">The Longer Way Down Job</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosette141/pseuds/cosette141'>cosette141</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Leverage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Hurt Eliot Spencer, Hurt/Comfort, Protective Eliot Spencer, Sibling Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 03:14:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>14,965</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23267446</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosette141/pseuds/cosette141</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>On the way down the mountain in The Long Way Down Job, Eliot and Parker don't make it down so easily. When an avalanche strands them far from help, Eliot and Parker have to keep warm and stay awake. But even the ones who do what the others can't... can't last the frigid cold forever. Eliot/Parker sibling friendship. Hurt/Comfort</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Parker &amp; Eliot Spencer (Leverage)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>138</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi everyone! New Leverage story :)</p>
<p>I hope everyone is staying safe in these trying times. We'll get through it together. I hope that I can try to ease a little of your boredom and stress in the world right now by posting new stories and updating every few days ;) This story is fully written and just needs a good dose of editing, so I'll have the whole thing up over the next few weeks.</p>
<p>This story is like an AU of The Long Way Down Job. There were soooo many things that could have happened on that mountain, and I love the Eliot/Parker scenes. I personally see them as a sibling relationship, but view this however you like.</p>
<p>Stay healthy and I hope you like the story! Always lovely to hear your thoughts if you wanted to leave them. :)</p>
<p>~cosette141</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="xcontrast">
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    <div>
      <p>"<em>And… there! Broadcasting the video to every TV in their lil' party tent over there! Ha! If that ain't damnin' evidence then my name's not Alec—"</em></p>
      <p>"Hardison!" growled Eliot, irritation having finally broken the dam of his self-control. Here he was, still on the side of a freakin' mountain, and he was tired, slightly lightheaded and freezing in every single place that should never be this freezing.</p>
      <p>"So…" said Parker, coming up beside Eliot where he'd stopped walking, snow drifting into her face. The snow had picked up significantly as they began their descent. She squinted against it and raised a gloved hand to swat it away. "We did it? We stole a mountain?"</p>
      <p>Eliot suppressed a sigh. "We didn't steal a—"</p>
      <p>"<em>Hell yeah we did, mama</em>!"</p>
      <p>Dammit, Hardison.</p>
      <p>"All right," Eliot cut in. "We're still on our way down. Shouldn't be too long." Eliot put his mask back on, giving a nod to Parker to let her know he was going to start walking again. "No more mountain jobs. Hear me, Nate? I've got snow everywhere I shouldn't have snow."</p>
      <p>"<em>We've got hot chocolate waiting</em>," came Sophie's soothing voice, and normally Eliot would have scoffed at the childish drink but at this point he'd even ask for some whipped cream on the damn thing.</p>
      <p>"Are we there yet?" asked Parker, and Eliot heard her mostly through the comms. He also heard a slight chatter from her teeth. It gave him pause to even hear her complain; she hadn't said a word the entire way up the mountain or even this far down about the temperature. And Parker wasn't normally one to complain.</p>
      <p>"Not yet, darlin," he said to her quietly. "Soon."</p>
      <p>Eliot had a vague idea of where they were on the mountain, but without Hardison giving him directions every few minutes he'd most likely have already been lost. His sense of direction was much better when the temperature was above zero degrees fahrenheit.</p>
      <p>"<em>You'll make it down in about forty minutes, at the pace you're goin',"</em> came Hardison's voice. Eliot nearly groaned. His mind crawled back to Sophie's hot cocoa.</p>
      <p>It was another ten minutes of trudging through the snow after that that Eliot sensed something was wrong. It was deep inside his chest, some primal instinct that sent a chill like an electric current through his body. He froze.</p>
      <p>Not a few seconds later, something slammed into his back. Eliot stumbled as Parker walked into him, but he recovered quickly and caught her arm to steady her. He stared out into the distance, up the mountain.</p>
      <p>Something was wrong.</p>
      <p>"What's wrong, Sparky?" asked Parker.</p>
      <p>Eliot didn't reply. He just kept staring, that feeling nagging at him. He didn't exactly know <em>what</em> was wrong. Just that <em>something</em> was.</p>
      <p>"Hardison," said Eliot then. "What's your radar sayin'?"</p>
      <p>A pause, followed by typing. "<em>Hmm. Nothin' new, man. Just a little wind.</em> <em>Why?</em>"</p>
      <p>Wind.</p>
      <p>Eliot's eyes widened. He grabbed Parker by the arm again and yanked her with him, gunning it down the mountain. The snow, at least three feet deep, made them impeccably slow but he fought it, never releasing Parker.</p>
      <p>"What—?"</p>
      <p>"<em>Dude, what are you</em>-"</p>
      <p>"<em>Eliot</em>," said Nate's voice suddenly. "<em>You don't think it's</em>—"</p>
      <p>"An avalanche," said Eliot through gritted teeth. Even as he said it, the ground beneath them started to shake. He thought the wind had picked up earlier but was too cold to put two and two together. He risked a glance back and nearly blanched at what he saw. Because he—Eliot Spencer—had seen a lot in his life. A <em>lot. </em>And he'd been terrified before.</p>
      <p>But nothing quite surpassed seeing a tidal wave of heavy snow on his tail, blocking out the sun.</p>
      <p>"Don't turn around, Parker!" he ordered, whipping around and nearly wishing he hadn't himself.</p>
      <p>"Wh-what—?" she stammered, her other hand grasping his arm.</p>
      <p>"Is that rope secured on you?" he yelled through panting breaths, checking his own to make sure it was tight and secure.</p>
      <p>"Y-yeah," she breathed.</p>
      <p>The roar of the snow was deafening now.</p>
      <p>"<em>Oh, my god—</em>" exclaimed Hardison. The sound of a chair being knocked backward. "<em>Eliot—Parker—RUN</em>!"</p>
      <p>"What—do ya think we're—doin', man?!" growled Eliot.</p>
      <p>"<em>God, Nate</em>…" Sophie breathed.</p>
      <p>Nate had gone deathly silent.</p>
      <p>Eliot steeled himself and turned around again.</p>
      <p>The snow was thirty feet behind them and gaining. "<em>Shit</em>!" he exclaimed, pushing himself to run faster.</p>
      <p>"Eliot—" Parker's voice was half between a gasp and a sob.</p>
      <p>He tightened his grip on her and spoke fast. "Parker—hold onto me as hard as you can. If—if you let go, the rope should..." He swallowed, hoping against hope the rope wouldn't snap. "The rope will keep us together. That snow is going to bury us." Those words hit heavily, even to him. "Get out of the snow, don't—don't you look for me. Get out <em>first</em>! Okay?" he shouted, already feeling the snow pelting his back.</p>
      <p>"But—"</p>
      <p>"Promise me, Parker!"</p>
      <p>"I prom—"</p>
      <p>The words were snatched from her as the wall—the tidal wave—struck them both. The last thing Eliot remembered was grabbing Parker and holding the thief to his chest as tightly as he could. Then flying, then falling, then…</p>
      <p><em>Nothing</em>.</p>
    </div>
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<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p></p><div class="xcontrast">
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      <p>Parker was floating.</p>
      <p>She's never felt so comfortable. She was lying on something soft and warm and she felt miles below reality. Like a dream. <em>Exactly</em> like a dream.</p>
      <p>Her head felt a little fuzzy, though. Lighter. And for some reason, her arm was cold. <em>Really</em> cold. But she only snuggled up closer against the warm bed she'd apparently fallen asleep in. She tried to let the sleep claim her again. It was soft. Cozy.</p>
      <p>But her arm was still <em>freezing</em>.</p>
      <p>It was starting to be a problem and she frowned in her sleep, agitated. She tried to move her arm but realized she <em>couldn't</em>. And shortly after that she realized she was lying on it.</p>
      <p>Suddenly, everything felt just a little more real. Sounds reached her ears; the sound of wind rustling bare branches and the occasional sound of some bird call. She was outside.</p>
      <p>And her arm was <em>cold</em>.</p>
      <p>Unable to bear it any longer, Parker opened her eyes, ready to move her arm out of whatever was freezing it. But her entire vision was obscured by black.</p>
      <p>She panicked for a second until she realized it was black material—the material of a jacket. Her brows screwed up in confusion. She knew that jacket, she'd seen it before, but who…?</p>
      <p><em>Eliot</em>!</p>
      <p>That was Eliot's jacket. But if that was Eliot's <em>jacket</em>, then…</p>
      <p>Parker's eyes opened wider, and she looked up. And sure enough, it was Eliot. She could see his face clearly now. But his eyes were closed. He seemed to be sleeping. <em>Unconscious</em>, she amended. Eliot didn't sleep.</p>
      <p>She was pressed firmly against his chest. She realized now the warmth and comfort she felt was because she'd been lying on top of him. She felt a pressure around her back; Eliot's arms. And…</p>
      <p>Parker looked down, seeing her arm lying in the snow. <em>Thaaaat explains it</em>. She quickly pulled her arm back up, cradling it between her chest and Eliot's to warm it. Her glove was still on thankfully but even with a coat, lying in snow is cold.</p>
      <p>
        <em>What happened?</em>
      </p>
      <p>Her head felt light and fuzzy but didn't hurt. She didn't have a concussion; she knew what those felt like. So what…?</p>
      <p>"<em>An avalanche</em>."</p>
      <p>Eliot's words jumped into her mind. Her heart dropped. They were in an avalanche?! She tried to pull herself off of Eliot's chest but quickly found that she couldn't move. She tried again, but was practically stuck to the hitter. Her heart beat rapidly in sudden panic, never one to be held down or restrained. But it only took a moment for her to realize the rope that was keeping her and Eliot together had tangled around Eliot's wrists, tying her to him.</p>
      <p>"El—" Parker coughed, her throat dry. She cleared it and tried again. "Eliot?"</p>
      <p>She glanced up at his face, but he didn't move. Not even a twitch.</p>
      <p>Suddenly she was even more panicked. Was he okay? Was he…?</p>
      <p>His jacket was too thick to tell a rise or fall of his chest. Parker's heart thudded. "Eliot? Eliot!"</p>
      <p>Nothing.</p>
      <p>Her breath was gasping now. And she realized, again delayed, that it was the altitude. She had to calm down. "H-Hard… Hardison?" she asked, her voice quieted by both the hoarseness and the chatter of her teeth.</p>
      <p>No response.</p>
      <p>Cold again, Parker leaned back down over Eliot, huddling close to his warmth. His <em>warmth</em>. Parker's heart slowed a bit. If Eliot was dead, he wouldn't be this warm. He was alive.</p>
      <p>He would be fine.</p>
      <p>Taking a slow, deep breath, Parker lifted herself up again. She had to untangle herself from him, but without cutting the rope. Who knew if the worst of this avalanche was over. She couldn't risk losing Eliot.</p>
      <p>It took her several minutes to finally untangle herself. She didn't want to risk removing her gloves. Once she was free, she pushed herself gently off the hitter.</p>
      <p>Eliot was lying on his back in the snow. Parker grabbed his shoulder and shook it hard. "Eliot!"</p>
      <p>Nothing.</p>
      <p>Parker bit her lip. She then took off one of her gloves with her teeth and slipped her hand into Eliot's coat, to rest it on his chest. She waited an agonizingly long moment until she felt it rise. Parker breathed a sigh of relief, then zipped him back up and put her glove back on.</p>
      <p>Parker sat back on the heels of her boots and looked around. There was snow everywhere. White covered everything. She looked up, squinting against the still bright sky. Why hadn't the avalanche buried them like Eliot said it would? Why…</p>
      <p><em>Oh</em>. Parker's gaze stopped at the drop off nearly fifty feet, maybe a hundred, above them. They must have fallen off and the avalanche didn't follow. Well, thank god for that.</p>
      <p>Parker shivered violently. She was lightheaded and freezing. And hungry. But she didn't want to think about that. And above all, she was on her own. She gave another look down at the unresponsive hitter, feeling a deep sense of fear in her gut. Seeing him so still was unsettling.</p>
      <p>She looked around. They needed shelter. Now. It would be night soon and they wouldn't make it through to the morning stuck out here.</p>
      <p>Parker's eyes cast over the wall of the mountain until—<em>there</em>! Less than a hundred feet away stood the half concealed opening of an ice cave. She just had to get them there.</p>
      <p>Parker got unsteadily to her feet. She glanced back down at Eliot. He still hadn't moved. Parker shoved down her worry. <em>Tune out the distractions and do the job</em>. She bent down and linked her arms under Eliot's shoulders. She hoisted him up and began to drag him.</p>
      <p>It was slower going than she thought it would be. He was heavy as it was and the snow was doing her no favors. Parker got about halfway across before she swayed, her head spinning from lack of oxygen. She fell to one knee and breathed hard. Slow. Breathe <em>slow</em>. After a moment it settled and she stood back up. A tree stood right next to her. A hazy idea formed and she took off her mask and laid it firmly on one of the branches. When the rescue teams came looking, might as well leave a trail.</p>
      <p>"Hardison?" she tried again. Nothing but static in her ear. They must be too far out of range. Or he was. Parker's brows kneaded. She looked back down at Eliot, who she'd gathered back up in her arms. She wished that he would wake up. She didn't want to do this alone.</p>
      <p>Parker set out for the cave again, trudging through the snow. After what felt like hours, she finally made it, pulling Eliot the last few feet into the cave, and collapsing to the ground.</p>
      <p>It was a small area. It looked like it was made for exactly what she was using it for. It went about ten feet inward, six or so feet wide. Enough to shield from the cold. She silently thanked whoever dug this out.</p>
      <p>Parker laid Eliot against the wall. She could feel him shivering beneath her fingers. She knelt next to him and shook him again. Hard. "Eliot!" She shook him again. Called his name. Shook him. Called his name.</p>
      <p>She didn't know how long she repeated the pattern. But finally, Eliot flinched away from her grip. His face screwed up in a grimace and he growled.</p>
      <p>Parker's face lit up.</p>
      <p>She couldn't help herself; she hugged him as tight as she could. "You're alive!"</p>
      <p>"P—" Eliot coughed. He jerked as she embraced him, but didn't shake her off. "P-Parker?" he asked through a chatter of teeth.</p>
      <p>Parker didn't release him. His voice sounded so good. <em>So good</em>. Like home. Like safe. She just hugged him tighter and whispered, "You're okay."</p>
      <p>"P-Parker, wh-what happened?"</p>
      <p>"There was an avalanche," she reminded him quietly.</p>
      <p>Eliot swore under his breath. "You okay, darlin? H-How'd we get i-in here?"</p>
      <p>"I woke up," said Parker. "You didn't. You wouldn't. I dragged you in here."</p>
      <p>"You did?"</p>
      <p>Parker pulled away from him then, to look at his face. He was looking at her with surprise and shock. "Yeah. Why?"</p>
      <p>Eliot shook himself slightly. "Well, thanks."</p>
      <p>Parker smiled.</p>
      <p>"But you shoulda left me."</p>
      <p>Parker looked at him like he was stupid. "Left you? Why would I do <em>that</em>? You're like a heater! I'm not leaving you out there."</p>
      <p>Despite it all, Eliot cracked a small smile. "Well if that's why ya did it, then all right." He looked around. "What is this place?"</p>
      <p>"Man made ice cave," said Parker. "We must have f-fallen off a dr-drop off, u-up th-there," she said, pointing up above them, suddenly freezing and shaking again.</p>
      <p>Eliot's face creased. He reached for her. "Parker, c'mere." He pulled her in toward him. His warmth spread to her again and she leaned into it. Safe. Home.</p>
      <p>"Hardison?" said Eliot suddenly.</p>
      <p>"They're not answering," said Parker quietly.</p>
      <p>Eliot swore again. They both sat in silence for a long moment.</p>
      <p>"Eliot?"</p>
      <p>"Yeah?"</p>
      <p>"Are we gonna be okay?"</p>
      <p>Eliot didn't say anything. Parker waited for his response, all too aware of the conversation they had about doing things the others couldn't.</p>
      <p>"Yeah."</p>
      <p>Parker looked up at him in surprise. "You think so?"</p>
      <p>He leveled her with a firm gaze. "I'm gonna make sure of it."</p>
      <p>And he hugged her tighter to him. Parker closed her eyes to the warmth and sank into it, letting the blessed dark and comfort take her away.</p>
      <hr/>
      <p>Eliot was still in their silence. He was thinking. And it was in the middle of those thoughts that Parker's weight suddenly became heavier. She'd fallen asleep.</p>
      <p>His heart picking up, he shifted, but then leaned back against the wall. She'd be fine for now. She was only asleep and he would wake her up soon to make sure she didn't… stay that way. It was a little unsettling how quickly she did fall asleep, though, but, he figured, the altitude and her exertion of energy was probably enough to put anyone out. He had no idea how long she'd dragged him to get here.</p>
      <p><em>Dragged him</em>.</p>
      <p>Eliot shut his eyes, hitting his head against the wall of the cave hard enough to hurt. He'd been stupid enough to let the damned mountain knock him unconscious, for Parker, Parker, to feel like she needed to save him. He couldn't honestly believe she did it. Without her forcing him awake, he didn't know how long he would have been out of it. And in this situation, out there in the snow, it would have been too long. He would have died and he knew it.</p>
      <p>It wasn't as though that bothered him—the fact that he would have died, and still might. That was only a possibility he carried with him to every job. He knew the consequences of being a hitter, a retrieval specialist, a soldier. He'd been somewhere like this, trapped and helpless and lost, in worst conditions than the one he was in now. But unlike nearly every one of those situations, he had something now that he had never had before.</p>
      <p>Someone to look after <em>him</em>.</p>
      <p>And he didn't like it.</p>
      <p>That was <em>him</em>. <em>He</em> was the guy who looked after everyone else. Whether it be his brothers from the Service, innocent people needing saving, or this bunch of hoohahs he managed to find four years ago. And the one who risked their neck to save someone else was the one at risk to get hurt. To get <em>killed</em>. Eliot looked down at Parker.</p>
      <p>He would not let her be that person.</p>
      <p>No one needed to risk themselves for him. He almost laughed. For <em>him</em>? He wasn't… he wasn't <em>worth</em> it. Not her life. Not anyone else's. He didn't… <em>deserve</em> it. It was more than he deserved. Too much damned more.</p>
      <p>Well, it wouldn't happen again. Eliot rubbed his face with a gloved hand, wincing at the ice crusted on the material as it scratched his face. He was awake and alert and he was going to take control of this situation. This was his job. His turf. And he was going to make sure he got Parker home safe no matter the cost. She's done far more than enough.</p>
      <p>His head was spinning slightly and his balance was still off, which was slightly worrisome. He was dehydrated and must have hit his head somewhere on the way down here. It wasn't a bad concussion, he didn't think, anyway, but it was hard to gauge anything when it was so damned cold.</p>
      <p>"Nate?" asked Eliot to the air. He waited, listening to the static in his ear. He cursed under his breath. Best case scenario: they were simply just out of range, and Hardison would give one of the comms to the rescue crews when they went out and that would put them back in range and back on Hardison's map.</p>
      <p>But there was no telling when those crews would be sent out.</p>
      <p>Eliot shifted his position again, his leg cramping. It was mixing between feeling numb and cold, almost like… pain. But even the shift in position didn't manage to wake the sleeping limb. He tried to shake out his right leg.</p>
      <p>A scream rose up in his throat but he caught it just in time, clamping a gloved hand over his mouth and stopping his movement at once. Pain shot up through his leg from his shin all the way to his hip. Agony burned underneath his skin. Agony that had been resting dormant under his numb skin.</p>
      <p>After a few harsh breaths, Eliot slowly lowered his hand and looked at his leg. He could see it now; it was lying at a strange angle. It was broken in at least one place, probably more. The pain was numbing down again. Finally, something good coming from sitting on ice.</p>
      <p>Eliot shut his eyes and dropped his head back, trying to shove his fury and fear deep within him. He couldn't lose the use of his leg. Not now. Not today. The loose plan he had been coming up with involved them leaving this cave and walking back toward the camps. To at least find shelter closer to Nate and the others. But without one leg, he'd need help from Parker, and that was the last thing he wanted to do. Going that slow wouldn't be fast enough anyway and they'd most likely just end up getting altitude sickness somewhere out in the open in the snow.</p>
      <p>Eliot tried to fight the growing sense of dread. Without contact with the others, no one one will find them. He had a hard time thinking that the crews were going to realize they fell over this drop off.</p>
      <p>They had to get in contact with Hardison, or they were dead.</p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
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      <p>Hardison was freaking out.</p>
      <p>Well, actually <em>freaking out</em> would be a harsh understatement. He was pacing the radio tent, and was numbly wondering why he hadn't carved a rut beneath him yet.</p>
      <p>Because the avalanche hit over three hours ago and <em>they still haven't heard from Eliot or Parker</em>.</p>
      <p>Nate was drinking himself into a coma in the corner of the tent. Sophie was frozen next to him, staring ahead. She was deathly still.</p>
      <p>The moment it hit, the camp had been in chaos. Apparently a few of the other climbers had been on their way down the mountain as well. Concerned friends and family had nearly attacked the safety crews, Hardison among them, for next steps to take. But the crew didn't move. Right alongside the other families, Hardison was beside himself with fear and fury. But, in the crew's words and not his, there wasn't anything the squad could do until the storm was over.</p>
      <p>And that meant they had to sit tight, and wait while the mountain swallowed up his two best friends whole.</p>
      <p>Hardison stopped pacing and checked his laptop screen. It was reflex by now. Pace for sixty seconds, check for Parker or Eliot's signal, see both of the comm lines dead, and go back to pacing.</p>
      <p>Without the comms, which may likely be destroyed by now, there was no way to exactly pinpoint Eliot or Parker's location. Without their location, the squad had no idea where to start. Without a point to start, only wasted time was to come. Without time, Eliot and Parker never stood a chance in the cold. And even if they had time and haven't frozen yet, the avalanche could have very well simply just—</p>
      <p>"Hardison."</p>
      <p>A hand on his arm stopped him from his pacing. He jerked and looked up, eyes wide as they stared into Nate's hard ones.</p>
      <p>"Yeah?" asked Hardison tentatively.</p>
      <p>"They haven't frozen, and they aren't dead. We're going to find them." said Nate firmly, and it took Hardison a long confused moment to realize he must have spoken his thoughts aloud.</p>
      <p>But it didn't even begin to quell his fear. "How can you say that? Do you even know the chances they had to survive that? They… they…"</p>
      <p>"I know their chances, Hardison," said Nate, his eyes hardening even more. It was only now that Hardison realized he wasn't even the most terrified one here. The hardness in the man's slightly glazed eyes betrayed every ounce of terror. "But if we sit here and declare them dead already then we have no chance in saving them. Hear me?"</p>
      <p>Stiffly, Hardison nodded his head, even if the words didn't quite make him feel better. Nate sat back down next to Sophie and grabbed his flask, flipping the top and taking a long swig. Hardison collapsed into his own chair, unable to get Parker's face out of his mind. And Eliot… God, he needed Eliot. Eliot would know what to do in a situation like this. Eliot wouldn't just be sitting here, waiting around while he was out there freezing to death. Hardison leaned over his computer, rubbing his temples and stared unseeingly at the two dead signals on the comms display.</p>
      <p>
        <em>Eliot… what do I do?</em>
      </p>
      <hr/>
      <p>Parker's eyes opened.</p>
      <p>Someone was shaking her gently. It took her a long moment to remember why it was so cold around her despite the warm embrace she was lying in.</p>
      <p>"Parker… darlin, time to get up."</p>
      <p>The voice was Eliot's but it was slightly pinched. Parker slowly pulled herself away from the hitter and rubbed her eyes. Her head still felt fluttery with the altitude but it was at least tolerable now.</p>
      <p>Parker gave Eliot a confused look. "We fell asleep?"</p>
      <p>Eliot smiled slightly. "No, <em>you </em>fell asleep."</p>
      <p>"Oh." Parker rubbed her eyes again and shivered. She took stock of her surroundings and her chest sank a little. "<em>Oh</em>."</p>
      <p>"You've only been sleepin' for about an hour," supplied Eliot.</p>
      <p>"Hardison?" she asked hopefully.</p>
      <p>Eliot shook his head. "Haven't heard from anyone."</p>
      <p>Parker pulled her coat around her tighter to escape the chill of the winter air. "What now?"</p>
      <p>Eliot sighed. "There's hardly any way the safety crews are goin' to find us in time. Hell, I doubt they even left to search for anyone yet. Mountain could still be too unstable."</p>
      <p>Parker scrunched her eyes. "So… we're just gonna freeze out here?"</p>
      <p>Eliot gave a little smile. "'Course not. We just need ta get close enough to them to get the GPS workin' and then they'll find us easy."</p>
      <p>Parker looked back outside. She sighed. "Alright." She got up to go. "C'mon, Sparky."</p>
      <p>Parker started walking until she realized Eliot wasn't following. She stopped and turned. "Eliot, what—"</p>
      <p>He shifted slightly and it was just now she realized the muscles were taut in his jaw. She cocked her head. "Eliot—"</p>
      <p>"This is the last thing I wanna ask of ya, Parker," said Eliot heavily, looking her dead in the eye, the words sounding like he was yanking them from somewhere deep within. "But I…" He swallowed, as if the words wouldn't come. He shut his eyes. Opened them. Breathed out. "I can't go with you. Broke my leg."</p>
      <p>Parker's brows lifted and her eyes fell to his leg, which she could just start to tell wasn't lying normally at all. Her entire chest seized at the sight. "B-But—" she spluttered. "No! I'm not going anywhere!" She sat down in a huff and crossed her arms, the mirror image of a toddler who was stubbornly standing her ground rejecting a punishment. "Nu uh!"</p>
      <p>Eliot's face turned hard. "Parker—"</p>
      <p>"No!" she growled at him, enough to make him flinch a little. "I'm not leaving you here, Eliot! No matter what!"</p>
      <p>"Parker," said Eliot heavily, looking like her name actually pained him to say. "Unless you go up there, we're <em>both</em> gonna die here!"</p>
      <p>"Then fine!"</p>
      <p>Eliot growled then. "Parker—"</p>
      <p>"That's how the other guy died!" she said, tears sparking at her eyes again. Eliot immediately looked hurt; the same look he had the last time she cried, not hours before. "He broke his leg and he couldn't get out and no one was around to help him and he died <em>alone</em>!" She sniffled, hastily wiping a tear away.</p>
      <p>Silence ensued, wrapping them both like a thick blanket. Eliot's face finally softened. "This ain't like that. I ain't alone. I have <em>you</em>."</p>
      <p>Parker looked at him. She can't remember a single time anyone has told her something like that. She's never been… <em>anyone's</em> before. No one has ever… wanted her enough to need her. And now Eliot, the grouchiest loner she'd ever met, needed <em>her</em>. <em>Wanted</em> her.</p>
      <p>She sniffed again, hugging her knees. "I still don't want to leave you."</p>
      <p>Eliot's lips twitched into a sad smile. "Remember what we talked about earlier?"</p>
      <p>Parker looked at him. She did.</p>
      <p><em>We do what the others can't</em>.</p>
      <p>She gave him a hard look. The smile was still on his face but it wasn't in his eyes. After four years of working with her new family, she's learned about reading people. She wasn't anywhere near an expert like Sophie—<em>no one was an expert like Sophie—</em>but she could see what was in Eliot's eyes. Pain. And somehow, Parker knew it had nothing to do with his broken leg.</p>
      <p><em>We do what the others can't</em>.</p>
      <p>The others wouldn't leave Eliot, if they were in her position.</p>
      <p>And the others, were they in Eliot's position, <em>wouldn't ask her to</em>.</p>
      <p><em>We do what the others can't</em>.</p>
      <p>Parker suddenly realized it was killing Eliot just as much to ask this of her as it killed her to consider it.</p>
      <p>Parker wiped a hot tear with an ice-crusted glove. She breathed out. "You promise you won't die?"</p>
      <p>Something replaced the pain in Eliot's eyes at her words, and it took her a second to recognize it as <em>relief</em>. Eliot inclined his head a little, holding her gaze. "I'll do my best."</p>
      <p>Parker scrunched her face. She looked back outside. Flakes of snow just began falling. She looked back at Eliot. "I just walk until I talk to Hardison and then I come back."</p>
      <p>Eliot nodded. "That's it."</p>
      <p>"And you won't die."</p>
      <p>"I promise."</p>
      <p>Parker gave him another firm look, and Eliot held it just as strongly. "You better not." she whispered.</p>
      <p>Eliot smiled then, and Parker could see the sincerity in his eyes, the vow. "I wouldn't dare."</p>
      <p>She held onto his gaze for a moment longer, then nodded and stood. With one last look at the hitter, Parker left, repeating her's and Eliot's mantra in her head as she did what the other's couldn't.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
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      <p>Parker left the cave reluctantly.</p>
      <p>She didn't want to leave Eliot. It was too similar to what had happened to their client, Dimitri. Way too similar.</p>
      <p>But Eliot promised.</p>
      <p>He promised he'd be fine, so she'd have to settle herself with that. Eliot had never broken a promise to her before.</p>
      <p>It was freezing outside. The ice cave had actually given them quite a reprieve from the biting chill of the air. Her face hurt and she found her breath shortening again, but she just pretended she was in a too-stale air duct and practiced her controlled breathing. It certainly helped, but the air was still too thin.</p>
      <p>She kept throwing a look behind her to ensure she could see the cave. She could, for now. But just in case, she took off one of her harnesses and hung it on a bare tree to act as a directional.</p>
      <p>"Hardison?" asked Parker to the thin air. Her voice shivered with the cold. She wrapped her arms around herself. "Hardison? Can you hear me?"</p>
      <p>Every ten steps she repeated his name, only static in her ear as a result. And every fifty steps she took some other piece of dark equipment off herself to leave a trail behind her.</p>
      <p>Time passed and she suddenly wondered how long she'd been gone. Her voice was hoarse from trying to speak through the cold air. She coughed, a sudden wave of dizziness knocking her down to her knees.</p>
      <p>She coughed a few more times, trying to even out her breathing again. <em>I can't get altitude sickness now</em>.</p>
      <p>As it calmed, she looked behind her, glad to see the trail she's left still visible in the snow.</p>
      <p>"Hardison?" she asked the air, and still only static greeted her.</p>
      <p>She kept on.</p>
      <hr/>
      <p>"Parker. Eliot. Parker. Eliot. Parker. Eliot—"</p>
      <p>"Hardison!"</p>
      <p>Hardison flinched at Nate's voice. The young hacker tore his gaze from the computer screen to see Nate's slightly glassy drunk eyes. Eyes that were narrowed at him. "It's been hours." said Nate with an exhausted growl that wasn't directed at the younger man but probably came off like it was. "If they could answer by now, they would have."</p>
      <p>"But what if they're just unconscious?" tried Hardison. "Maybe they'll hear me and wake up."</p>
      <p>"Nate," said Sophie with a mix of calm and steel as she re-entered the tent, having heard his words to Hardison. "If it helps him, let him be."</p>
      <p>"Nothing is going to help <em>them</em> except those stupid crews," muttered Nate, glaring at the door to their tent. "At this point, if their comms are down and they're under snow, by the time the crews go out—"</p>
      <p>"Nate," said Sophie, putting firm hands on his shoulders. "Shh. We'll find them. I've just asked and they said the mountain is as stable as it will get. They're readying the crews now."</p>
      <p>"It could still take hours to find them," he whispered, rubbing his eyes and reached for his flask.</p>
      <p>Hardison returned his eyes back the computer screen, and, quieter, repeated, "Parker. Eliot. Parker. Eliot."</p>
      <p>Each name becoming more and more broken in his voice.</p>
      <hr/>
      <p>Parker kept walking, trying to fight the growing exhaustion.</p>
      <p>She was running out of things to leave behind in her trail and wasn't sure she wanted to give up a glove just yet.</p>
      <p>Every step away from Eliot scared her even more, made her feel more alone for both of them.</p>
      <p>Tired and cold, Parker stopped walking. She stared at the vast expanse of white. She felt emptiness and doubt weigh on her shoulders.</p>
      <p>Her eyes burned and she tried not to cry.</p>
      <p>"...<em>ke-r. Eli—t. Ark-er—iot…"</em></p>
      <p>Parker jerked around.</p>
      <p>"Hardison?!" she asked.</p>
      <p>She heard a gasp in her ear. Something fumbled and then— "<em>arker</em>?"</p>
      <p>It was still fuzzy, and Parker realized she wasn't quite in range yet. She started to jog a few more steps out. "Hardison! Hardison?"</p>
      <p>"<em>Parker</em>!" he cried in her ear, his voice crystal clear and immensely relieved.</p>
      <p>She smiled. "Hardison, thank god."</p>
      <p>"<em>Parker</em>!" came Nate's voice, firm and Nate-like. But also with a touch of vulnerability that she hasn't heard from him often.</p>
      <p>"<em>Are you all right?" </em>asked Sophie eagerly.</p>
      <p>"I'm okay," she said quickly, trying to stop her teeth from chattering. "But Eliot isn't. He broke his leg."</p>
      <p>A slight silence.</p>
      <p>"<em>Eliot</em>?" asked Nate. "<em>Are you all right</em>?"</p>
      <p>"He can't hear you," said Parker. "We were too far out of comms range. The avalanche knocked us over a drop off. We found a cave to take shelter and Eliot's there now. I… I had to leave him to contact you."</p>
      <p>More silence.</p>
      <p>"<em>Was he conscious when you left him</em>?" asked Nate quietly.</p>
      <p>"Yeah," said Parker. "He was awake. Other than the leg he's okay I think."</p>
      <p>"<em>Aha</em>!" said Hardison. "<em>I have a lock on your location, Parker! You're—damn, girl."</em></p>
      <p>"What?" asked Parker, fear edging into her voice.</p>
      <p>"<em>You're a lot further off from where you guys started</em>," he said hollowly. "<em>It's gonna take…</em>" Typing sounded in the background, quick enough to match the beat of her heart. "<em>You're a three hour trek away. Even with the mobiles."</em></p>
      <p>Parker let out a short breath. "I walked at least an hour to get here," she said, her teeth chattering even more. She felt a little despair sink into her. "I'm cold," she whispered.</p>
      <p>"<em>Parker,"</em> said Hardison in a broken sort of sadness.</p>
      <p>"<em>Will we be able to find you</em>?" Nate cut in, business-like again. "<em>When you get back to Eliot, we won't have contact with you. Will we be able to find you?"</em></p>
      <p>"I think so," said Parker. "I left a trail of stuff in the sn-snow," she said, her teeth clacking together.</p>
      <p>"<em>Good," </em>said Nate. "<em>Hurry and get back to Eliot. The crews are getting ready to head out now but it's going to take a while. You two need to share as much heat as you can."</em></p>
      <p>Parker nodded. "Okay."</p>
      <p>"<em>Parker</em>," came Sophie's soothing voice. "<em>We'll find you two, I promise. Be strong for us."</em></p>
      <p>Parker nodded again to the air. "I will."</p>
      <p>As much as she felt like running back to Eliot, she knew it would only aggravate her shortness of breath. She took one step after another, finding her trail and following it.</p>
      <p>She fought the exhaustion and the lightheadedness and kept on.</p>
      <hr/>
      <p>Eliot stared at the expanse of white outside the cave.</p>
      <p>He'd been staring at it ever since she left.</p>
      <p>The sun had dropped in the sky and from it he could tell that Parker had been gone for almost two hours now.</p>
      <p><em>Too long</em>.</p>
      <p>Images of her lying in the snow, unable to get up, plagued him. How could he send her out on her own? What if she got lost? What if she never made it back to him, and she died somewhere in the cold all by herself?</p>
      <p>He suddenly wished he'd had her make the same promise to him that he made her.</p>
      <p>Time passed, and it was just when Eliot was about to lose it when he heard the slight <em>pat, pat</em> of boots in snow outside. "Parker?" he called, moving to get up so he could see, but grimacing as he shifted broken bones. He sat back against the cold wall but kept his eyes glued to the opening. "Parker! Is that you?"</p>
      <p>A few more <em>pat pat pat</em>s were all that greeted him and he watched worriedly until he saw her come into view.</p>
      <hr/>
      <p>She was freezing by the time she got back.</p>
      <p>It took almost longer getting back than it took leaving, because the cold had stiffened her limbs. The sharp cut of the wind scraped her face and without her mask it hurt far more than it had before. She'd brought her scarf over her most of her face during the journey back but it didn't help as much as she'd hoped.</p>
      <p>Trudging through feet of snow each step was a workout on its own, and she was exhausted. That plus the thinner air made her wonder if she would even make it back without passing out.</p>
      <p>But sheer determination that <em>Eliot will not be alone</em> kept her going.</p>
      <p>But finally, she made it.</p>
      <p>She'd heard him call as she got closer but her lips were practically frozen together. Her teeth were chattering so fast she didn't think words would be coherent.</p>
      <p>Instead she walked into view of him, seeing the hitter right where she left him, and relief break out on his face.</p>
      <p>"Parker!" he said in relief. "Thank god, I was gettin' worried abou—Parker?" He sat up. "Are you okay?"</p>
      <p>She shivered hard, and managed to crack her lips apart to whisper, "C-c-cold."</p>
      <p>His smile vanished, replaced with deep concern and fear. "Come here, quick," he said, and she moved her numb legs as fast as they would go. It was hard bending such stiff legs but she did, sliding down the wall next to him. Immediately he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close, but she was shivering violently.</p>
      <p>
        <em>So cold.</em>
      </p>
      <p>
        <em>So, very, cold.</em>
      </p>
      <p>"Parker," she heard him say, his voice a little shaky to her ears. "Parker, open your eyes, darlin'. Can you open your eyes for me?"</p>
      <p>She tried, not exactly sure when she'd closed them in the first place, but they seemed too far out of her reach.</p>
      <p>"<em>Shit</em>!" she heard from somewhere.</p>
      <p>Everything was blurry then—blurry and numb. She was still cold, but she was cold enough now that she couldn't exactly <em>feel</em> the coldness. <em>She was so cold that she wasn't cold</em>? She wanted to giggle. That sounded funny.</p>
      <p>Something was moving her. Something warm.</p>
      <p>Lots of warm.</p>
      <p>Feeling was bleeding back in. Warmth trickled back in like a warm fire.</p>
      <p>"...er," said a voice. "Parker? Sweetheart, wake up. Don't fall asleep. Parker?"</p>
      <p>"Mm not," she mumbled, not opening her eyes.</p>
      <p>She felt someone sigh. "Yeah? Prove it. Open your eyes."</p>
      <p>She slowly obeyed the voice, cracking her eyes open. The other wall of the ice cave met her eyes. Things became a great deal less surreal. And she was <em>warm</em>. She smiled, snuggled into the warmth.</p>
      <p>That warmth hugged her tighter. The movement she'd noticed earlier was a hand rubbing up and down her arm. As she continued her journey toward reality, she realized it was Eliot next to her.</p>
      <p>And she also realized she was much closer to him than before.</p>
      <p>She wasn't wearing a coat anymore, and instead felt the fleece of Eliot's hoodie against her cheek. His hand was rubbing over her own sweatshirt that had been beneath her coat. His arms were wrapped around her, and she was held tightly to him by something.</p>
      <p><em>His coat</em>.</p>
      <p>Eliot's coat was now around them both, zipped tight over both of them. She blinked.</p>
      <p>This was the closest she's been to someone in a very, very long time. And regardless of the warmth, discomfort had her trying to pull away. But she felt incredibly heavy and hard to move.</p>
      <p>"Shh," he said. "Stay here. You were almost hypothermic. Let me keep you warm."</p>
      <p>Her heart beat fast and she felt herself tense, half in it and half out.</p>
      <p>"You're safe," he said gently. "You can get out if you really need to," he added for her, "but you need the heat."</p>
      <p>She settled herself back down with that, both surprised and grateful that he knew what was going through her head. They both stayed like that for a while, every second giving her a bit more warmth.</p>
      <p>"I talked to Hardison," she said once her teeth stopped chattering so fast.</p>
      <p>"You did?" he asked. "Thank god. They comin'?"</p>
      <p>"Just… sent out crews," she said. She blinked away the tiredness, rising back to awareness. "They said they'll be a few hours."</p>
      <p>Eliot didn't reply for a second. "How many hours?"</p>
      <p>"Three, he thinks," she said quietly.</p>
      <p>More silence.</p>
      <p>"That's too many," she said slowly, "isn't it?"</p>
      <p>Eliot sighed, rubbing her arm a little faster. "Let's hope it's not."</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
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      <p>"Parker?" asked Hardison, but she didn't reply. Static fizzled in his ear; she was too far out of range.</p>
      <p>
        <em>But she was okay.</em>
      </p>
      <p>
        <em>They were alive.</em>
      </p>
      <p>He wiped a few tears that had fallen to his cheek, out of pure shock and overwhelming joy to hear her voice. Hardison stared at the map of the area, and where Parker's earbud had last cropped up. He drew a circle around the area, within an hour's trek, to give them the best guess at where Eliot and Parker would be.</p>
      <p>"Got it?"</p>
      <p>The tent door opened and Nate and Sophie returned, looking as worried as Hardison felt.</p>
      <p>"Yeah," said Hardison, grabbing the map. "Got a radius." He gave it to Nate, who examined it. "They should be somewhere in there, give or take a few yards."</p>
      <p>Nate nodded. "Good. Let's go."</p>
      <p>They headed out of the tent where the rescue crews were huddled and mounting snowmobiles. Nate approached the one who looked in charge and gave him Hardison's map. "We just made contact with our people; they're alive and somewhere in this location."</p>
      <p>The man looked from the map to Nate. "That's a long ride..." He whistled to get the attention of the other rescue crews. "All right! I need three riders to head into this area," he said holding up the map, "and we'll split up into three groups! These people have already been out there for longer than they should; we have no time to waste." A bunch of nods followed.</p>
      <p>"You," said the man to someone standing on the sidelines. "I need you to call an emergency evac helicopter." His voice turned grim. "We're gonna need it."</p>
      <p>The other man nodded and ran inside the tent. Hardison felt himself run a little numb at the tone of the man's voice, but someone clasped his shoulder and made him turn.</p>
      <p>Nate gave him a heavy look, saying nothing, but not needing to. Hardison nodded.</p>
      <p>"We'll find your people," said the man to Nate, and started to get on his machine.</p>
      <p>"We're coming with you," said Nate firmly.</p>
      <p>"I-"</p>
      <p>"Please," whispered Nate, desperation leaking through the word.</p>
      <p>The man hesitated then nodded.</p>
      <p>The three team members each got on the back of one of the snowmobiles behind a rider. Hardison clung tight to his.</p>
      <p>And if he was shaking, he blamed it on the cold.</p>
      <hr/>
      <p>Eliot didn't know how long he sat still, holding Parker to him, stroking her arm with his thumb.</p>
      <p>But he did know that he was starting to get cold.</p>
      <p>He'd been cold the entire time, but he hadn't quite felt it get bad until now. Now, it wasn't just freezing him from the outside in. He could feel it in his bones. In his veins.</p>
      <p>The pain from his injury was a partial culprit; his body was now working to heal the broken bones, using precious energy he couldn't afford to give.</p>
      <p>But Parker had started shivering a bit more. Which was good; for a terrifying few minutes after she returned, she hadn't <em>at all</em>. Her body had nearly given up, and he was thankful she made it back when she did. Any longer…</p>
      <p>That thought constricted his heart.</p>
      <p>But he could tell that his warmth was helping her. That was good. Most of her body was on him, and not the icy floor or the snow.</p>
      <p>Beneath and behind him were walls of ice, making staying warm much harder. Since Parker's coat was too thick for him to zip her inside his, he'd taken hers off. Body heat would help her far more than a few inches of material. He'd managed to finagle a way to slide her coat beneath his uninjured leg to keep it from touching the frigid ground. But Eliot wished desperately for a blanket. <em>Something</em>. He hadn't been this cold since being imprisoned in in Croatia, and he'd definitely been hypothermic then.</p>
      <p>How he'd managed to make it to this point alive, he really didn't understand.</p>
      <p>But he was grateful he was, if only to make certain that he was here to keep Parker warm, to keep Parker alive. Because she was lying completely on him now, no part of her touching the ice, she'd stay marginally warmed than him. And Eliot wouldn't have it any other way.</p>
      <p>They hadn't said anything for a while, but he could feel her breathing. Eliot blinked, feeling tiredness in his own eyes.</p>
      <p>It scared him.</p>
      <p>"Parker," he said suddenly, blinking away the exhaustion.</p>
      <p>"Mm?"</p>
      <p>He felt a little surge of relief at the reply. "How 'bout you tell me a story, sweetheart?"</p>
      <p>Hesitation. "Why?"</p>
      <p>"If we keep talkin' we keep awake," he said gently. "So tell me a story."</p>
      <p>"You f-first."</p>
      <p>Eliot narrowed a half-hearted glare at the top of her head. "Fine," he said. He hadn't thought this far ahead. He had to tell <em>her</em> a story? "Well," he said instead. "What do you want to hear?"</p>
      <p>Parker was quiet for a few moments then. He was about to ask her something, make sure she was awake when she said, "What did your house look like?"</p>
      <p>Eliot's brows lifted a little. He'd been expecting something more about his retrieval specialist days, and expected to deny telling most of those stories.</p>
      <p>He almost preferred to talk about some of those days than to reach down into his nostalgia and drag it back up.</p>
      <p>But Parker was waiting, and he really didn't have a good enough excuse not to respond. Plus, she was interested in his answer; she'd stay awake.</p>
      <p>"It wasn't big," he said, picturing it in his head. "My dad built it himself. I helped," he said, with the ghost of a grin. "Though, I was four years old at the time. That bathroom doorway was never quite level." He breathed out, walking through the memory. "The only thing Mama cared about was the garden. It was always bloomin' somethin'. She was the one who taught me to cook," his words dissolved as the memory started to hurt. He hadn't expected to follow it that far, and he blamed the thin air. Damn mountain was leaving his head in a fog.</p>
      <p>"I liked my room."</p>
      <p>Eliot froze, hearing Parker's tiny words float up to him. He was quiet, wondering if she would expand the thought. When she didn't, he said, as gently as handling an explosive, "You did?"</p>
      <p>He felt her nod. "Jack didn't."</p>
      <p>Eliot felt even his breathing quiet. Parker had never been forthcoming about her past, with any of them. The only time she'd mentioned any of it was when they ran that con on the fake psychic who'd figured out Parker had a brother who'd died.</p>
      <p><em>Jack must be her brother</em>.</p>
      <p>"You shared the room?" he asked gently.</p>
      <p>A moment's pause, and Eliot wondered if he pushed too far. Then, "He wanted his own room but he couldn't." Her voice dropped down, almost too low for Eliot to hear. "I liked my room cause I wasn't alone."</p>
      <p>Eliot felt himself hold her a little tighter.</p>
      <p>"I shared my room with my brother, too," said Eliot quietly. "He was a little pain in the ass," he said with a short laugh.</p>
      <p>"You had a brother too?" asked Parker, looking up at him.</p>
      <p>"I did," he said, his voice faltering. He spoke of it in the past tense, but as far as he knew, his little brother was alive and well. His whole family, he assumed. But he'd had to let them go long ago, and it was simply easier to think about them as if they were already gone from him.</p>
      <p>Sometimes, his mind would wander back to them. Wonder who they'd become.</p>
      <p>Wonder if they still thought about him.</p>
      <p>Wonder what they'd think if they knew what he'd become.</p>
      <p>He let out a controlled breath.</p>
      <p>
        <em>This was why he chose to forget.</em>
      </p>
      <p>"Okay," said Eliot, opening his eyes. He braced himself, and said, "Your turn again. What do you want to hear?"</p>
      <p>Parker took a second to think and Eliot readied himself to dive back into the hole.</p>
      <p>"Did you have a horsy?"</p>
      <p>Eliot's brows lifted in both surprise of the light inquiry, and in the innocent way her little voice said <em>horsy</em>. His heart nearly thawed his whole body.</p>
      <p>Eliot laughed a little, leaning his head back against the cold wall of the cave.</p>
      <p>"I did," he began. "A beautiful one." He smiled; he hasn't thought about her in years. "Her name was River."</p>
      <p>"Was she nice?" mumbled Parker, and Eliot was reminded of Parker's once-fear of horses.</p>
      <p>"Sweetest animal I ever met," said Eliot softly, rubbing Parker's arm with his thumb, wanting more than anything in the whole world, to protect the girl in his arms. "When we get outta here," he said, his voice wavering in strength. He cleared his voice a little. "I'll take you riding with me. I know just the place. You'll love it."</p>
      <p>Parker smiled.</p>
      <p>And Eliot tried not to think about whether it was <em>if </em>rather than <em>when.</em></p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p></p><div class="xcontrast">
  <p></p>
  <div>
    <p></p>
    <div>
      <p>Hardison clung to the back of the rescue crew member who was driving their snowmobile. They were going at quite a fast pace, which both made him nervous and relieved at the same time.</p>
      <p>It has been at least twenty minutes since they left camp. He, Nate and Sophie each went with a different crew member, but still had their earbuds to keep in contact. The three different crews were going to fan out in the radius Hardison found, where Parker and Eliot were. It was still a radius that spanned a couple of miles, so they couldn't dawdle. Eliot and Parker have been stuck in this biting cold for too long already. It scraped his own face and stole his breath and he pressed his scarf to his mouth again.</p>
      <p><em>We're coming,</em> he thought. <em>We're coming guys. Hang on.</em></p>
      <hr/>
      <p>It was getting colder.</p>
      <p>Well, Eliot wasn't exactly sure if the air itself was actually getting colder, or just <em>he </em>was.</p>
      <p>His and Parker's story time had been going on for at least the past thirty minutes, maybe forty. But his responses began shortening. Slowing. His blinks were growing longer.</p>
      <p>Parker's hadn't. She was still going strong ever since Eliot warmed her up. She was lying against his chest, inside his jacket still. Her arms wrapped around herself, and her legs were lying on top of Eliot's. He couldn't feel his broken leg anymore, the cold air had certainly numbed it enough, and it just became an easier position to pull Parker all the way onto himself. She was completely absorbing his warmth, as well as sharing her own.</p>
      <p>But Eliot was still sitting on the ice, both on the floor and at his back; Parker's coat was only long enough to reach from the ankle of his uninjured leg to half up his thigh. But even with it, the cold had slowly seeped into his clothing, past his extra layers.</p>
      <p>"Eliot?"</p>
      <p>Eliot blinked his eyes open. "Hm?"</p>
      <p>"You're not listening."</p>
      <p>He blinked again. Parker was looking up at him with that calculating expression of hers. He cleared his raw throat. "Sorry, darlin'. What were you sayin'?"</p>
      <p>She didn't elaborate. She just kept staring. "You're shivering," she said with a scrunched nose.</p>
      <p>Eliot smiled wanly. "That's a good thing."</p>
      <p>"But it's more than before."</p>
      <p>Eliot sighed. And if she were any of the others, he would lie. He wouldn't admit it. <em>But they do what the others can't.</em></p>
      <p>So he just said, "I know."</p>
      <p>"Do you wanna sit on me instead?"</p>
      <p>That made him laugh, and he opened his eyes. "No, Parker." He gave her a light squeeze. "I don't want to sit on you."</p>
      <p>"I won't mind."</p>
      <p>His smile grew. "I appreciate it, sweetheart."</p>
      <p>"Just remember," she mumbled, "you promised."</p>
      <p>It took him a minute to register what she wasn't saying, and it came back to him. "I haven't forgot," he said softly. "Nothin' about that's changed."</p>
      <p>She narrowed her eyes a little, like she didn't trust it. But she wanted to. "Okay." she said, leaning her head back against his chest.</p>
      <p>As she looked away, his grin faded. She was right; he <em>was</em> colder now than before. And he didn't remember zoning out from what she was saying. Not a good sign.</p>
      <p>"What were we talking about?" asked Eliot reluctantly, not exactly wanting to admit he didn't know.</p>
      <p>"Number seven!" said Parker brightly. "My seventh favorite vault is the Prism. It's got the most tumblers."</p>
      <p>Eliot leaned his head back again, too tired to hold it up.</p>
      <p>He did, however, listen.</p>
      <hr/>
      <p>Nate rubbed his hands together within the safety tent.</p>
      <p>He and his crew member, a young man named Jason, searched the entire area of their claim on Hardison's radius. But no cave, no drop off to be found. Just long stretches of snow everywhere.</p>
      <p>He tilted his watch.</p>
      <p>It's already been an hour.</p>
      <p>He looked back to toward the opening.</p>
      <p><em>One down, two to go</em>.</p>
      <hr/>
      <p>Parker was cold.</p>
      <p><em>Really</em> cold.</p>
      <p>It had been bad earlier, but not like this. It was like her very bones were icicles now.</p>
      <p>Even Eliot, her human heater, wasn't enough to keep the cold at bay. And she realized it wasn't necessarily because the air was getting colder.</p>
      <p>Eliot wasn't as warm anymore.</p>
      <p>It worried her.</p>
      <p>Their stories started growing slower, until they stopped altogether. It was Eliot's turn, and she supposed he was thinking, but that was a while ago. And she didn't remember how long. Was it still his turn? She was getting too sleepy to notice.</p>
      <p>She blinked a few times.</p>
      <p><em>No</em>. Sleepy was bad. She couldn't sleep.</p>
      <p>She tilted her head up to look at Eliot only to see his eyes closed. Fear jumped into her heart. "Eliot?"</p>
      <p>He didn't move.</p>
      <p>Her fear picked up. She could feel him breathing, however, and it was the only thing that kept her from panicking full out. "Eliot!"</p>
      <p>He'd been shivering a lot the past while but now they died down… a <em>lot</em>.</p>
      <p>Not good…</p>
      <p>He was too cold.</p>
      <p><em>I knew he shoulda sat on me</em>.</p>
      <p>Unsure of what to do, Parker looked around. She needed to get him off the cold ground. She needed to get him <em>warmer. </em>But they had no blankets, no more extra coats to spare.</p>
      <p>However…</p>
      <p>She felt her arms wrapped around her own middle. Her shoulder was leaning against Eliot's chest. She was closer to someone else than she's ever been in a very, very long time. Even though she and Hardison were sort of together now, they were taking things slow. Just the other day he tried to hold her hand and she hit him with her other one. It had only been reflex...</p>
      <p>But Eliot needed help. He needed <em>her.</em></p>
      <p>Slowly, haltingly, Parker uncurled herself. Her heart beating faster, she turned until her chest was against Eliot's. And, ever so slowly, she wrapped her arms around his waist.</p>
      <p>She felt warmer instantly. Not as warm as she'd been first waking up in his arms, but warmer than a second ago. Warmer enough to notice.</p>
      <p>Getting a little more comfortable with it, because <em>this is just Eliot, and Eliot can be trusted</em>, she squeezed a little more, trying to pour every ounce of warmth into him. "Eliot," she mumbled.</p>
      <p>Still nothing.</p>
      <p>He didn't move. Didn't speak.</p>
      <p><em>He was too cold</em>.</p>
      <p>"Eliot," she said again, feeling wetness at her eyes. "Eliot, you promised. You <em>promised</em>."</p>
      <p>She was suddenly reminded of the man in the cave who'd frozen the same way Eliot was sitting now.</p>
      <p>Parker felt the wetness spill down her cheeks. "Eliot!" she felt her chest hitch. More tears fell. "<em>Eliot</em>! Wake up!" The hot tears burned her cheeks. "Eliot, <em>wake up</em>! Wake—"</p>
      <p>She felt him move.</p>
      <p>Felt his breathing change.</p>
      <p>"...P-Parker?"</p>
      <p>"Eliot?" she asked wetly, looking up at him.</p>
      <p>He blinked tiredly, looking down at her. Seeing the tears on her face. "Park—" He began in surprise, but Parker squeezed him tight enough to shove the air out of his lungs.</p>
      <p>"Eliot, don't fall asleep," she whispered breathlessly. "Don't fall asleep, don't fall asleep, don't—"</p>
      <p>"Hey…"</p>
      <p>And suddenly he was squeezing her gently back and shushing her. "It's okay. I'm not goin' anywhere. I'm right here, sweetheart."</p>
      <p>Parker buried her head in his chest, her tears still falling freely. "Don't fall asleep," she whispered again, brokenly. "Don't."</p>
      <p>"I won't." And if she wasn't mistaken, his voice sounded hoarse and stuck in his chest. "I'm sorry," he whispered. His hand ran over her back soothingly, quieting her tears. "I'm still here. Don't worry."</p>
      <p>She clung onto him, crying into his sweatshirt, hearing him whisper gentle things over and over again and she thought about his horsy and her old room and of her old brother and of the new brother she was holding now and only clung onto him harder.</p>
      <hr/>
      <p>"Nothing," said Sophie to Hardison and Nate through the comms.</p>
      <p>The wind was painfully cold and her scarf was almost covering her whole face. She looked around the sea of white, exchanging a look with the crew member she was with.</p>
      <p>"<em>It's gotta be me,</em>" said Hardison. "<em>This is the last area they could be in</em>."</p>
      <p>"<em>All right," </em>said Nate. "<em>Sophie and I are headed that way, too."</em></p>
      <p>Sophie nodded at his words, feeling a burn behind her eyes.</p>
      <p>
        <em>Please don't let us be too late.</em>
      </p>
      <hr/>
      <p>The light was beginning to fade.</p>
      <p>Eliot's eyes slowly trailed to the opening of the cave. The sun was just starting to set.</p>
      <p>Without it, it would become much colder.</p>
      <p>Too cold.</p>
      <p><em>Where the hell are you guys</em>?</p>
      <p>He didn't know how long it's been since Parker came back. Time lost all meaning in here.</p>
      <p>His eyes were heavy and everything became numb with the cold.</p>
      <p>He was so tired.</p>
      <p>It was getting harder and harder not to close his eyes too long.</p>
      <p>He still stroked Parker's back. He could see her eyes, fighting to stay open.</p>
      <p>They waited in silence.</p>
      <p>It had felt like ages before Parker broke it. "Wh-where are the-they?"</p>
      <p>Her voice was barely above a whisper. He pulled her a little tighter to him, trying to give her as much warmth as he could.</p>
      <p>"I don't know, darlin." His voice wasn't much stronger. His eyes closed again of their own power but he forced them back open. They closed. He opened them.</p>
      <p>"They're not gonna m-make it in time," she said quietly. "Are they?"</p>
      <p>Eliot swallowed. He looked back out the cave at the wide expanse of white. Felt the cold seep inside his bones. He closed his eyes, this time of his own volition. Barely above a whisper, he said, "I don't think so."</p>
      <p>His words fell heavy in the thin air. They scraped his own chest, hurting. The truth. The truth that he didn't think they had more than a handful of minutes before both their bodies gave in. They couldn't handle the cold much longer.</p>
      <p>Eliot opened his eyes to see Parker's still open. He felt her hug him tighter. He returned the gesture.</p>
      <p>"It's okay."</p>
      <p>Eliot looked back down at her. "Hm?"</p>
      <p>She cleared her throat a little. "It's okay," she repeated. "It's okay if you break your promise."</p>
      <p>Eliot felt a hitch in his chest, wondering how she knew exactly what he'd been thinking. Wondering if she felt exactly what the realization did to his soul. "It is?" he asked, his voice cracking a little. Almost as if he was asking permission. <em>Pleading </em>permission.</p>
      <p>Parker nodded against his chest, but more tears gathered in her eyes. "You can't help it," she explained quietly. "I don't want you to feel bad." She hugged him tighter. "So it's okay."</p>
      <p>Eliot felt his eyes burn with rare tears of his own.</p>
      <p>They were going to die.</p>
      <p>There was no way around it now. It's been too long. Their shivers were practically non-existent. They were minutes from falling asleep, into the kind of sleep people don't wake up from.</p>
      <p>She was going to die in his arms.</p>
      <p>And that realization killed him more than the cold will.</p>
      <p>He pulled her close, tight to his chest. "I'm sorry, sweetheart."</p>
      <p>They both stayed in silence for a moment, their shivers dying down dangerously. Their eyes harder and harder to keep open.</p>
      <p>He felt Parker shake a little, and looked down to see her crying. It broke his heart. Twisted his chest. "Parker," he said, his voice mixed with pain and fatigue and heartbreak. "It's all right, darlin. It's all right. Don't cry," he whispered. He closed his eyes as a hypocritical hot tear slipped over his cheek.</p>
      <p>"I don't wanna lose you," she whispered, her chest hiccuping a little. Her tears fell freely. "I just f-found you." She sniffed. "I don't wanna <em>lose</em> you."</p>
      <p>Eliot felt another one of his join the first. He hugged her tighter. "You won't." He said firmly. "You <em>won't</em>." He smiled a little, a broken sort of smile. "You <em>can't</em>."</p>
      <p>Parker snuggled into his chest and Eliot rested his head over her hair.</p>
      <p>"I'll make you a new promise," he whispered, summing up the strength to speak. "I promise that I'll always be with you. <em>Always</em>."</p>
      <p>Parker snuggled deeper. "You aren't allowed to break that one."</p>
      <p>Eliot smiled through another hot tear. "I never will, sweetheart." He hugged her, even tighter. "I never could."</p>
      <p>He held her tightly, to his heart.</p>
      <p>And like that they waited, patiently, silently, together, to die.</p>
      <hr/>
      <p>Hardison's heart thudded in his chest. He clung hard to the crew member's back, whether from fear of falling off or fear for Eliot and Parker, he didn't know.</p>
      <p>It's been too long.</p>
      <p>Too damn long.</p>
      <p>If they didn't find them soon, they—</p>
      <p>Hardison spotted something ahead, in one of the trees. Something dark. Like—</p>
      <p>"STOP!" cried Hardison.</p>
      <p>The snowmobile came to an abrupt stop.</p>
      <p>"What is it?" the member asked.</p>
      <p>"There!" exclaimed Hardison. He yanked himself free and ran the few yards to the object—</p>
      <p>
        <em>Parker's visor.</em>
      </p>
      <p>"They're here!" he yelled. "Nate, Sophie, <em>they're here</em>! They're nearby, I found Parker's visor!"</p>
      <p>"<em>Thank god</em>," came Sophie. "<em>I'll have them get the chopper to you immediately."</em></p>
      <p>"<em>Hardison, we're a few minutes behind you. Find them. Now.</em>"</p>
      <p>Hardison didn't need the encouragement.</p>
      <p>"Eliot?" he asked desperately. "Parker? Can you guys hear me? We're here! We're coming!"</p>
      <p>He jumped back on the mobile and they began their way through the terrain, slowly, eyes peeled for any sign of them.</p>
      <p>Slowly, they found a trail of Parker's things. Mostly equipment or rope. "We're close," he updated Nate and Sophie.</p>
      <p>"There's the drop off," said Hardison's crew member.</p>
      <p>They kept along, until an opening stood out from ahead.</p>
      <p><em>Cave</em>.</p>
      <p>"<em>There</em>!" cried Hardison. The crew member rattled off some GPS coordinates to the other members for Nate and Sophie's riders and Hardison's drove them to the edge of the cave.</p>
      <p>Hardison jumped off and ran. "Eliot! Parker! Are you—"</p>
      <p>As he approached the cave, he saw them.</p>
      <p>Eliot was sitting up against the cave wall, Parker lying in his arms.</p>
      <p>Both of their eyes were shut.</p>
      <p>"No," breathed Hardison. "No—" He ran forward, dropping to his knees beside them. "Eliot! Parker!" They were so still. "<em>No</em>!" Hardison felt tears flow over his cheeks. "<em>Parker</em>!" He went to shake Eliot's shoulder when a hand grabbed his arm and held him back.</p>
      <p>"Stop!" said the member. "Don't move them. Be very careful. Any movement could send their hearts into cardiac arrest."</p>
      <p>A strangled sound escaped Hardison's throat. He felt hot tears burn his eyes and he looked helplessly at Parker.</p>
      <p>"Parker," said Hardison with half a sob. Her face was so pale. Almost blue. He ripped off his own gloves and unzipped Eliot's jacket a little to feel her neck. "Parker, Eliot, <em>please</em>—"</p>
      <p>"He's alive," said the crew member, pulling his own hand back from Eliot's neck.</p>
      <p>"So is Parker," breathed Hardison, nearly fell over with relief. "Oh, my god," he looked back and forth from Parker and Eliot's faces. "Thank god. Thank the damn lord."</p>
      <p>"Here," said the member from behind him thrusting a blanket toward him. Immediately Hardison took the warmth and draped it over Parker and Eliot. The member moved Eliot very carefully up from the wall, putting a thick blanket behind his back, and then one underneath him.</p>
      <p>"They're severely hypothermic," said the member gravelly. "I'll get some more blankets, take this—" He reached over to give Hardison a handful of hot water bottles. "One under each arm, and behind the neck. Remember, be gentle."</p>
      <p>Hardison nodded, tears still flowing down his cheeks. As gentle as possible, he gave the warmth to Parker and then to Eliot. Neither of them moved. The member came back with more heat and blankets.</p>
      <p>"Chopper's here," said the man after coming back again, and Hardison could hear the blades slice through the air.</p>
      <p>
        <em>They were alive.</em>
      </p>
      <p><em>They would be okay</em>.</p>
      <p>The rescue personnel quickly arrived and took over, asking Hardison to give them space.</p>
      <p>Nate and Sophie arrived with their crew members at the same time. The three of them watched as Eliot and Parker were lifted carefully onto two backboards and carried to the helicopter, covered head to toe in blankets and heating pads.</p>
      <p>Neither of them woke up.</p>
      <p>Hardison couldn't stop crying, and Sophie began to start.</p>
      <p>Nate didn't cry.</p>
      <p>He just stared, his face whiter than the snow all around.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p></p><div class="xcontrast">
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      <p>Nate hated hospitals.</p>
      <p>And the past eighteen hours only reinforced that hatred.</p>
      <p>After Eliot and Parker were choppered out to the nearest hospital-a clinic on the side of the mountain-Nate, Sophie and Hardison were driven down by several of the members.</p>
      <p>By the time they walked inside the middle-of-nowhere-hospital, Eliot and Parker were already in a room.</p>
      <p>They were in the same room, simply to save time, the doctors and nurses had told them. This way, they didn't have to run to two separate rooms with blankets and hot water bottles and machinery.</p>
      <p>Both the hitter and the thief were stripped of their clothes and given dry ones, and piled high with blankets, and well-placed heating bottles.</p>
      <p>When Sophie asked about more heating pads, one of the nurses explained that heating extremities in this type of hypothermia could result in sending cold blood to the heart, which could stop it altogether.</p>
      <p>The three of them didn't speak again.</p>
      <p>It was discovered somewhere in there that Eliot's leg was broken, and that was something the doctors decided to splint and deal with later.</p>
      <p>Parker began to warm up faster than Eliot. At one point, she opened her eyes, and Hardison had nearly fallen out of his chair before Nate could hold him back.</p>
      <p>She lost consciousness just as quickly but the doctors were happy and that's all Nate cared about.</p>
      <p>Parker's temperature continued to rise steadily and they put her on an air mask with heated air to help warm her from the inside out.</p>
      <p>Eliot's journey back to warmth was slower.</p>
      <p>His core temperature had been lower than Parker's when they were brought in, and rising much slower. They put him on the heated-air mask but decided a few hours in to do something Hardison almost passed out watching—they drew blood from Eliot to heat it, just to recirculate the now-warm blood back into his system.</p>
      <p>And after eighteen hours, Parker's temperature has risen almost twenty degrees, and Eliot only five.</p>
      <p>It wasn't something lost on the conscious people in the room.</p>
      <p>At some point, Sophie and Hardison fell asleep. Hour twelve? Thirteen? Sophie's head was on his shoulder, and their fingers intertwined.</p>
      <p>Nate, however, rubbed bleary eyes and listened to the heart monitors—both of them. The only lifeline of his own. And inside his head, as steady as the slow beat of the monitors he heard <em>my fault, my fault, my fault</em>.</p>
      <p>"Almost back to ninety degrees," said a doctor leaning over Parker. He turned a weary face toward Nate. He smiled.</p>
      <p>Nate let his lips twitch into what might have been a smile. Until it faded. "And Eliot?"</p>
      <p>The doctor's smiled faded too. "There's still a very high chance his temperature will continue to rise."</p>
      <p>Nate blinked. "But it hasn't in the past few hours."</p>
      <p>"Give it time, Mr. Ford."</p>
      <p>"<em>Sam isn't getting better</em>."</p>
      <p>"<em>Give it time, Mr. Ford</em>."</p>
      <p>No alcohol in the vicinity, Nate took Sophie's hand and held it.</p>
      <p>And if he wasn't mistaken, he felt her squeeze his back.</p>
      <hr/>
      <p>Parker opened her eyes.</p>
      <p>She was staring at a white ceiling with an annoying beeping somewhere near her head. <em>Hardison must have left one of his toys on</em>.</p>
      <p>But she quickly realized she wasn't home. She blinked a few times at the white ceiling until she remembered something—Eliot. She and Eliot were in the cave. Waiting for the others. But the others never came. So…</p>
      <p>She felt her heart stutter.</p>
      <p>Was she… <em>dead</em>?</p>
      <p>She blinked again.</p>
      <p>So, this is what death felt like.</p>
      <p>It wasn't horrible.</p>
      <p>She looked around a little.</p>
      <p>Hmm. Death looked startlingly like a hospital.</p>
      <p>She blinked again.</p>
      <p>Wait. <em>Hospital</em>. Maybe if she was in a hospital...</p>
      <p>"Eliot?" she tried to call, but her voice came out in a raspy whisper. She tried again. "Eliot!"</p>
      <p>Where was Eliot? Alive or dead, he should be here with her.</p>
      <p>He promised.</p>
      <p><em>I'll always be with you</em>.</p>
      <p>"<em>Eliot</em>!"</p>
      <p>"Parker?!"</p>
      <p>She jerked around to see Hardison, who looked like he just woke up. He pulled himself up from the floor—where Parker could see a blanket and a rolled up sweatshirt as a pillow on the ground—and Hardison rushed to the side of the bed. A giant smile broke out over his face. "Parker!"</p>
      <p>"Hardison?" she asked, her voice still a raspy croak.</p>
      <p>"Here," said Hardison, taking a cup and bringing it to her lips. She instinctively moved away until he said, "It's just water."</p>
      <p>She let him tip the cup and she drank, not realizing how thirsty she'd been. When the cup was empty, she said, her voice more normal, "Where am I? Where's Eliot?!"</p>
      <p>Hardison's face fell a little. "You're in an emergency medical clinic, we're still on the mountain." he said. "We found you and Eliot in that cave. You were both really hypothermic. Eliot hasn't woken up yet."</p>
      <p>Parker felt her chest hurt. "Is he gonna be okay?"</p>
      <p>Hardison sighed, and it looked like a question he'd already asked himself a million times. "I don't know, mama. If they can get his temperature back up, he will. He isn't warmin' up as fast as you."</p>
      <p>Parker threw the blanket aside. "Where is he? I wanna see him!"</p>
      <p>"Parker!" Hardison caught her before she could get up and tried to push her back onto the bed. "You need to rest!"</p>
      <p>"No!" whined Parker, struggling to get out of bed, fighting Hardison's arms. "I changed my mind," she said, her eyes burning hotly. "I changed my <em>mind</em>!"</p>
      <p>"Changed your mind about what?" asked Hardison exasperatedly, trying in vain to keep the thief in the bed. But Parker instead decided to get off the other side of the bed and stood up. She must have stood up too quickly because her legs were wobbly and she fell sideways into the wall before catching herself.</p>
      <p>"Parker!"</p>
      <p>She was faster than he was, and recovered before he made it around the bed to her. She stumbled outside the room and into a small main room of the clinic. Then straight ahead in another room, she saw him.</p>
      <p>Eliot was lying on the bed, eyes closed.</p>
      <p>She made it to the room, reaching the door frame, and used it to hold up her weak, shaking legs. Next to Eliot's bed were two chairs, filled by Nate and Sophie. They both looked at her—a mix of shock, relief and concern—as she made her way to Eliot.</p>
      <p>They both stood up. "Parker—" began Nate, but Hardison beat him to it.</p>
      <p>"Parker!" he called, coming into the room in a rush. "What're you—"</p>
      <p>But Parker didn't listen to him. She just leaned on the side of Eliot's bed and looked at him. His eyes shut, face pale. The too-slow beat of his heart. She gently laid a hand on his arm; he was colder than normal. He was usually never cold.</p>
      <p>She felt her eyes blur.</p>
      <p>"I changed my mind," she whispered, a tear falling down her cheek. "You're not allowed to die."</p>
      <p>The room silenced for a few moments after that. Hardison stopped trying to catch her. No one said anything.</p>
      <p>"Parker," said Sophie softly. Parker tore her gaze away from Eliot when she felt Sophie's hand on her shoulder. "Darling, you should be in bed. You're not up to your full health yet." She paused, a sad smile slipping across her face. "Eliot would want you to be resting right now."</p>
      <p>Parker sniffed. "Will he be okay?"</p>
      <p>Sophie sighed. "We don't know, Parker. If he keeps getting warmer, he will. The doctors are doing everything they can."</p>
      <p>"It's my fault," she said quietly. "I told him we shoulda taken turns sitting on the ice. I shoulda—"</p>
      <p>"No," said Nate, his voice quiet but thick with self-loathing. "It's not. It's mine. I shouldn't have sent the two of you on your own, no matter what job we did." He leveled her with a heavy gaze. "You contacted us, Parker. You left a trail Hardison could find. You brought Eliot here."</p>
      <p>
        <em>I want to bring him home.</em>
      </p>
      <p><em>I want to do the right thing</em>.</p>
      <p>No.</p>
      <p>Eliot couldn't die.</p>
      <p><em>He couldn't</em>.</p>
      <p>Parker started to cry, tears falling down her cheeks, and this time, Eliot wasn't there to stop them.</p>
      <hr/>
      <p>They'd sent her back to bed after that; she'd gotten too dizzy to stand up on her own. Throughout the rest of the day Eliot's temperature only rose a few degrees. He was still below eighty. The doctors said something about his body not able to take the cold temperatures much longer.</p>
      <p>He was getting all the heat he needed, but something wasn't working.</p>
      <p>That night, Nate and Sophie fell asleep in Eliot's room, in the early hours of the morning. And Hardison was asleep on the floor of Parker's room. The doctors had a schedule to check on Eliot every hour.</p>
      <p>It was silent when Parker opened her eyes to the dark.</p>
      <p>The beep of Eliot's monitor reached her ears from across the small building.</p>
      <p>Throwing a cautious look over to the sleeping hacker, Parker slowly levered herself up, and got out of bed. She left her room and found herself back in Eliot's room.</p>
      <p>Nate and Sophie were still asleep. So was Eliot.</p>
      <p>She stared at Eliot for a long moment, then, carefully, she crawled into his bed, under the blankets and laid down next to him. She slowly—cautiously—wrapped her arms around his middle, like she had that day in the cave. It was easier to do it now. More familiar. Trustworthy.</p>
      <p>She laid her head on his chest.</p>
      <p>She'll give him her warmth.</p>
      <p>But more than that, she had a promise of her own. She never promised him anything that night, and she should have.</p>
      <p>"Eliot," she whispered quietly to the unconscious hitter. "I promise that I'll always be with you too."</p>
      <p>Her eyes stung and she closed them tight, hugging Eliot even tighter as she stained his shirt with her tears.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>a/n: thanks so much for reading, and thanks so much to those who've left reviews! Means so much! :) this is technically the last chapter, but it isn't the end just yet. There's still a little epilogue to come! I'll post it very soon!</p><p>~cosette141</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
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<p></p><div><p>Eliot slowly began to wake.</p><p>He wasn't quite coherent, unable to really think past how damn <em>tired</em> he was.</p><p>A steady beep whispered <em>hospital</em> in the back of his mind, and for half a second he wondered if that was a good or bad thing. But memories started coming in fragments: the mountain, the avalanche, the snow cave.</p><p>And not for the first time in his life, he was suddenly surprised he wasn't dead.</p><p>Memories were really muddled in that snow cave, but he remembered Parker and—</p><p>
        <em>Parker.</em>
      </p><p>The thought of the young thief sprang to the front of his mind, speeding up his journey to reality. The noises in the room became louder and just as they did, he realized he was lying on a bed, feeling the warmth of the sheets and blankets pulled over his chest. Though…</p><p>...there was more than <em>sheets</em>.</p><p>Someone was lying beside him.</p><p>More than that, arms wrapped tightly around his middle and he heard the heart monitor pick up as he noticed it.</p><p>He wrenched open his eyes, ready to kill whatever member of the hospital staff who thought this was <em>okay</em> or god forbid <em>Hardison</em> or someone when—</p><p>"Eliot…"</p><p>The room blurred into view. White ceiling. Slightly off-white, plain ceiling, no tiles.</p><p>It wasn't a hospital. Must be some sort of clinic.</p><p>It was a very <em>distinctive</em> white ceiling.</p><p>Eliot was about shove the clinic nurse who had a clear death wish to get this close to him off the bed when Nate spoke again. "Eliot, Eliot—hang on. Don't do anything drastic," said Nate carefully. "I think she was just trying to help you."</p><p>Eliot narrowed his eyes in confusion, giving Nate a puzzled look from where the man stood at the edge of Eliot's bed, before Eliot slowly turned his head to see the blond hair spilling out over his chest.</p><p>His brows shot up.</p><p><em>Parker</em>.</p><p>He could hardly see her face over the mess of her hair. Her head was buried in his chest and she was practically lying on top of him. She was hugging him like a child would a teddy bear.</p><p>He stared at her for a moment more in shock before he slowly settled back, lifting one hand to her back, stroking her shoulder gently with his thumb. He felt the smallest smile grace his lips.</p><p><em>She's okay</em>.</p><p>"How are you feeling?" asked Nate.</p><p>"Hot," said Eliot, pushing the blanket back a bit, but realized suddenly that he was shaking. Nate smiled a little and pulled the blanket back up.</p><p>"Keep it there," said Nate firmly when Eliot tried to move it again. Eliot rolled his eyes tiredly but didn't move it. "You had us worried," said Nate quietly. "Both of you did."</p><p>Eliot looked back down at Parker, seeing her back rise softly with each breath. "You weren't the only one," said Eliot quietly.</p><p>"Parker warmed up before you did," said Nate. "You took… longer." He shifted uncomfortably. "When Sophie and I woke up this morning, Parker's bed was empty and we found her here. I think she was trying to warm you up."</p><p>Eliot smiled softly. "I think she did."</p><p>Nate smiled too, a rare sort of expression from the man. The smile faded a little. "I'm sorry."</p><p>Eliot looked at him. "For what?"</p><p>Nate shot him an incredulous look. "You know what for." he said. Eliot internally smirked. He'd never been one to apologize.</p><p>"First of all," said Eliot, leaning back against the pillow. "You couldn't predict an avalanche, Nate. And we're okay. No apology necessary."</p><p>Nate didn't look pleased with that response but he accepted it. He patted Eliot's shoulder. "I'm glad you're all right. I'm going to go tell the others."</p><p>Nate left and Eliot blinked heavily, feeling exhausted still. He looked back toward Parker, sleeping peacefully, looking just like his baby sister when he was growing up. He never saw the teenager or adult she grew into. But he felt the same way about her as every time he looked at Parker.</p><p>He felt her move. He watched her wake, slightly disoriented. She rubbed her eyes with one fist like a child and she blinked, finding him awake. Her whole face lit up.</p><p>"Eliot!" she cried, and before he could say anything, she squeezed him harder, shoving all the air out of his lungs.</p><p>He laughed, however, and patted her shoulder a little. "It's okay," he whispered. "It's okay, now." When she didn't let go, he wheezed, "Parker, I can't breathe."</p><p>She let him go after another few seconds, and looked at him. He was shocked to see that she was crying just a little.</p><p>"Parker—?" he began.</p><p>"You kept your promise." she said quietly. "Both of them," she finished, with the biggest smile on her face.</p><p>Eliot gave her a heavy, meaningful look. "I couldn't have without you." He gave her a little squeeze.</p><p>Parker smiled then, the same smile a young child wore when given praise. She laid back on his chest. "Next time we get stranded in an ice cave, you're gonna sit on <em>me</em>. Got it?"</p><p>Eliot raised a brow. "Next time? Nah, next time we'll send Hardison up the mountain."</p><p>Parker giggled. "That sounds fair."</p><p>"Sendin' me where?" came Hardison's voice.</p><p>"In the next avalanche," clarified Parker.</p><p>Hardison walked into the room, and clearly tried to look offended at that, but Eliot could see in his eyes that he was just damn happy to have Parker back safe and sound.</p><p>"Eliot!" said Hardison with a grin, and Eliot was surprised to hear the amount of relief in the hacker's voice. He held out a fist and Eliot bumped it with a roll of his eyes. "Good to have you back to room temperature, man."</p><p>"Eliot," added Sophie, behind Hardison. "I'm so glad you're all right. You two can't scare us like that!"</p><p>"Sorry," said Eliot. He traded a meaningful gaze with her, one that none of the others would catch, but he knew the grifter would. "We'll try not to do it again."</p><p>"Parker," said Nate. "Your doctor wants to run a couple tests to make sure you're all set. Come back to your room with me?"</p><p>Parker huffed, squeezing Eliot once more. "Okay." She looked at Hardison. "If Eliot gets cold again you need to hug him."</p><p>The embarrassed heat that rushed to Eliot's face could have thawed the entire avalanche.</p><p>"Uh," said Hardison, just as awkward.</p><p>"No he will not," said Eliot with a firm glare toward Hardison that promised death.</p><p>Nate and Sophie helped Parker out of the room, for she was still shivering a bit, which Eliot knew could last a while after hypothermia this bad.</p><p>Hardison approached the side of Eliot's bed, his face more sober. "I'm glad you're okay, man. You had me worried there."</p><p>Eliot nodded. "Same." he said honestly.</p><p>"And I'm glad she has you," he added, more quietly. Genuinely. "She means… everything to me," he admitted in an almost-whisper.</p><p>Eliot inclined his head a little. "I know."</p><p>Hardison looked a little surprised, like he either didn't think Eliot had observed his feelings or he didn't realize he wore his heart on his sleeve. Hell, wore it all over his wardrobe.</p><p>"I know how much you did for her," Hardison went on. "I know you took most of the cold so… so she didn't have to." He shifted uncomfortably. "Thanks for protecting her," said Hardison softly. "Thanks for protecting all of us… all the time." He held a hand up when Eliot opened his mouth to speak. "And before you go saying 'that's what I do', yeah, I know. But thanks anyway."</p><p>Eliot swallowed his original response and settled for, "Nothin' I wouldn't do."</p><p>Hardison smiled, then with a mischievous glint in his eye, "But if it was you and me in that cave instead of Parker, we woulda cuddled?"</p><p>"We woulda died."</p><p>Hardison laughed.</p><p>"Knew there was a line."</p></div></div></div>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
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    <p>"Riverrrr! Ri<em>verrrrr</em>—!"</p><p>"Parker!"</p><p>Parker stopped at Eliot's call. He was a good ten feet behind her, still walking slower than normal. It's been six weeks since the job on the mountain, and Eliot was finally back on his feet. His leg has healed enough to walk on, even if his walking wasn't very fast.</p><p>For the first time since the team came together, Eliot had been the one to tell Nate he wouldn't be available to do jobs until his leg had fully healed. Everyone had been more than surprised that Eliot willingly stepped aside, and didn't need to be forced—the most disappointed of whom was Sophie, who wrote a speech to convince him and then declared that he 'stole her moment'. But after everything that happened, Eliot knew now more than ever that he needed to be as close to one hundred percent as possible during a job to be able to protect his team. Any less could get them killed.</p><p>Any less almost <em>did</em> get them killed.</p><p>So, long story short, the team has taken to a two-month vacation. Most of which has been spent at Nate's apartment, but Eliot saved enough time for a trip out of state, and down South.</p><p>"RIVER!"</p><p>"Parker!" Eliot had to push himself to catch up with her, but she finally waited to let him catch up. "For the last time," he said, just a little out of breath, "I told you I was takin' you riding with me, but I can't take you riding on <em>River</em>. It's going to be a different horse."</p><p>Parker pouted.</p><p>Eliot smiled sadly. He didn't actually know what happened to River when he left home. He hoped she was still healthy, and riding with a respectful owner. "<em>But</em>," he continued at Parker's fallen expression, "I found this ranch, and it has some of the nicest animals in the country."</p><p>Parker relented and grinned. "Okay."</p><p>This little ranch did have a great reputation for kind animals, and had a training program to teach new riders. It was well known for teaching children, which was why these horses were some of the most gentle and friendly.</p><p>Perfect for Parker's first ride.</p><p>There was a trainer included in the package Eliot paid for but he dismissed the young boy the moment he approached them. Eliot was perfectly capable of being Parker's trainer.</p><p>She really was naturally talented, and she picked up his lessons incredibly fast. She didn't lose balance even <em>once</em>—not that it surprised him, considering how graceful she is—and they went for a stroll on their own horses beside each other. Parker spent most of the time having a conversation with her horse—Cashew—telling the animal about Nate, Sophie and Hardison and all the things she steals, and even about Eliot himself. He listened to her one-sided conversation in one ear, and tuned into the Alabama nature and atmosphere of the South. He chose not to take her to Oklahoma; their trip down memory lane on the mountain made his heart ache more at the thought of home than feel better. So, it may not have been Oklahoma, but the feeling was close enough.</p><p>Eliot paid for a four hour ride but—the thieves they were—took more of an eight hour stroll (and sometimes a canter, for Parker asked more than once if he wanted to race) around the ranch. Parker giggled and gossiped with her new friend and Eliot enjoyed himself in his natural habitat for the first time in years.</p><p>They returned the horses after the sunset to some annoyed farmhands who'd expected them back hours prior and Eliot drove them to the hotel he booked them.</p><p>"That was so fun!" said Parker excitedly, not having tired in the least.</p><p>Eliot smiled. "Glad to hear it, darlin." And more than anything, he was simply glad that he had the chance to bring her. He hasn't forgotten the pain from that night on the mountain, at the thought that Parker wouldn't survive. Hardison wasn't the only one who cared deeply for Parker, even if both men thought her special in very different ways.</p><p>They arrived at the little hotel and Eliot carried their bags—both of them packed light and they were leaving in the morning, so it wasn't much. He lifted the key to open the door when Parker darted to it and picked the lock instead.</p><p>"Parker, I have the key."</p><p>She just shrugged and opened the door. It was one room with two beds and a little kitchen area. Eliot set their bags on the table while Parker examined the room.</p><p>"I was gonna get you a separate room," said Eliot, suddenly wondering if he made a mistake. "But I thought you might want to… share the room." The words came out stunted and hesitant and a little awkward. He winced when she didn't say anything. "But I can call down and get you your own—"</p><p>He was cut off as she jumped on him, hugging him around the chest. His tense muscles relaxed as she whispered, "I love it!"</p><p>Eliot felt himself smile over her shoulder, and he carefully hugged her back. "I'm glad."</p><p>She pulled away and looked at him. "Now I wanna get <em>you</em> something!" Her brows crinkled. "What do you want?"</p><p>Eliot's smile just grew, giving her shoulder a squeeze. "I've already got it, darlin."</p><p>Parker smiled too, a smile that reached her eyes and made them sparkle.</p><p>Eliot watched her run to jump on her bed, and he felt himself laugh, wondering how the coldest night of his life somehow gave him the warmest feeling in his heart.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>a/n: the end :)</em>
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